In breër perspektief: Vanwaar hierdie “fortress mentality”? (28). Veral in Europa kan dit toegeskryf word aan bv “the frightening heights of mass migration, the backlash against globalization* [and] the resurgence of nationalism” (33). Mure is dwarsoor die wêreld gewild, by uitstek in die 21ste eeu. “2016 set the record for border deaths (7 200 globally) because of the increase in border security” (1548). Mure staan as getuies en selfs as monumente teen internasionalisering/globalisme. Mure “best illustrate the challenges of identity in a globalized world” (94). “Thousands of miles of walls and fences have gone up arround the world in the twenty-first century. At least sixty-five countries, more than a third of the world’s nation states, have built barriers along their borders; half of those erected since the Second World War” (33). “There are many reasons why we erect walls, because we are divided in many ways – in terms of wealth, race, religion and politics. Sometimes divisions lead to violence, and walls are erected to protect or defend. Sometimes walls go up to keep certain people out. Sometimes physical walls don’t go up at all, but we still feel the separation; it’s in our minds. These invisible barriers are often just as effective” (43). [* Eerder: “globalism” – Praag 25.11.2018.]

Die Groot Muur in China is seker die bekendste muur. Dit word soos volg beskryf: “Continuous defensive wall stretching from western Gansu to the Gulf of Liaodong (2 250 km/1 450 mi). It was once even longer. It was built under the Qin dynasty from 214 BC to prevent incursions by the Turkish and Mongol peoples and extended westwards by the Han dynasty. Some 8 m/25 ft high, it consists of a brick-faced wall of earth and stone, has a series of square watchtowers, and sections have been carefully restored” (Collins World Encyclopedia, 2003, p 394).

Die muur wat deesdae meer in die nuus is as China se Groot Muur is die een wat Donald Trump belowe het om op die grens tussen Amerika en Mexiko te bou ten einde onwettige en ongewenste immigrante en vlugtelinge buite te hou. “This is perhaps the most famous non-existent wall in the world” (495). Trump het ‘n muur “with an average height of 30 feet” in die vooruitsig gestel (495). “The border stretches 2 000 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico via California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. At most a wall could be built along 1 000 miles of it, with natural obstacles such as steep terrain, bedrock and water getting in the way along the rest of the route” (709). Maar daardie beoogde muur is meer as ‘n fisiese muur. ‘n Trump-ondersteuner het gesê: “We would look at the wall as not just a physical barrier to immigration but also as a symbol of the American determination to defend our culture, our language, our heritage, from any outsiders” (509). “It endorses the idea of making ‘America Great Again’ and symbolizes the support that exists for putting ‘America First'” (516). “A border defines a nation, and Trump’s wall is attempting to define what America is – both physically and ideologically” (736).

“The rest of the 440-mile-long barrier is a fence. Despite the fact that only 3 per cent of the ‘separation barrier’ between Israel and the Palestinian West Bank is made of concrete, it is routinely referred to as ‘The Wall’. Why? Because the 3 per cent is far more visually arresting than the other 97 per cent” (909). Dít is wat gefotografeer en gepubliseer word. Daar is in 2000 met die bou van die muur begin (948). Dit word deur die oorgrote meerderheid Israeli’s as ‘n noodsaaklike sekuriteitsmaatreël beskou (979). “The wall is a huge success” (986). “As the barrier has gradually enclosed the West Bank, suicide bombing and gun attacks in Israel have fallen dramatically” (1000; ook 979).

“In addition to the one in the West Bank, they built a security barrier on the border with Gaza; begun in 1994, it’s nearly 40 miles long. There is also a 152-mile-long fence along the Egyptian-Israeli-border, completed in 2013, which has halted illegal immigration from a variety of African countries. Between 2000 and 2012 almost 50 000 Africans, mostly from Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, crossed the border … A fourth fence, less publicized, is one built along the Syrian border after that country plunged [in 2011] into civil war” (1007). Wat opval, is dat Israel se muurbouery en heiningoprigting in 1994 begin het; dalk omdat die Israeli’s die onverkwiklike lot van blanke Suid-Afrikaners ten alle koste wil vermy. Israeliese Arabiere, ‘n vyfde van die bevolking, het meer regte as blanke Suid-Afrikaners. Hulle is nie net verseker van volle stemreg nie, maar ook van bv eie woongebiede en skole (1116).

Midde-Ooste

“In 2014 just 5 per cent of the global population lived in the Arab world but suffered 45 per cent of the world’s terrorist attacks” (1280). “There are small walls all over the Middle East. Each one is a testament to the terrorist violence now endemic across the region. You can see them in Baghdad [Iraq], Damascus [Syria], Amman [Jordan], Sana’a [Yemen], Beirut [Lebanon], Cairo [Egypt], Riyadh [Saudi Arabia] ” (1246). Veral die stewig ommuurde “Green Zone” in Baghdad se regeringsbied is bekend (1253). “Saudi Arabia has built hundreds of miles of fence along its northern and southern borders, Kuwait has fenced off its frontiers, and Jordan has fortified its border with Syria; to the north the Turks have built a wall 10 feet high and 7 feet thick [along part of the border with Syria – 1404], while the convulsions in Libya have led Tunisia and Egypt to construct fences along their frontiers” (1344). “Washington DC funded the ‘Jordan Border Security Program … There is now a 160-mile-long high-tech security fence along the Syrian frontier. It has watchtowers, night-vision cameras and ground sensors that can detect movement 5 miles each side of the border. A similar structure covers 115 miles of the Iraq border” (1357).

“The border fences constructed by the Saudis are even longer, and costlier, than those in Jordan, but they are also built with American assistance. The Northern Border Project covers over 550 miles of the Iraq frontier. It has a triple fence, a giant sand berm, thirty-two ‘response stations’ linked to seven command and control centres, all backed up by 240 quick-response vehicles” (1364). Die ironie is: Amerika kan oor honderde kilometers sekuriteitsheinings in Jordanië, Saoedi-Arabië en elders in die Midde-Ooste oprig, maar as dit by die beveiliging van Amerika se grens met Mexiko kom, is daar luide kritiek. “To its south Saudi Arabia has fenced off part of its border with Yemen [“a stretch of frontier about 100 miles long” – 1377]. This project began in 2003 and, as with Jordan’s original plan for the Syrian fence, was originally designed to reduce arms- and people-smuggling from dirt-poor Yemen into the far richer Saudi Arabia” (1370). “The fence still leaves hundreds of miles of the border open in the desert areas to the east, but here the distances are so great, and the conditions so brutal, that it is harder to evade patrols and there are fewer crossings” (1384).

In 1990, op die grens met Irak, “Kuwait … constructed, literally, a line in the sand … A 6-mile deep barrier consisting of three parallel sand berms arose along the entire length of the border. Parts were topped with barbed wire and had tank ditches in front of them” (1391). “A 135-mile-long fence has since been erected from the Iraqi border town of Umm Qasr along to the joint border triangle where Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia meet. Like so many other countries in the Middle East, Kuwait is trying to guard itself against the proliferating violence in Iraq, and also stop illegal immigration into its much wealthier economy” (1397).

“The justifications for the fence on India’s border with Bangladesh include prevention of weapons- and contraband-smuggling and deterrence of cross-border insurgents; but primarily the fence is there to prevent illegal immigration at levels that have resulted in riots and the mass killing of foreigners. Its main purpose is to keep people out” (1548). Indië is reeds oorbevolk. “Refugees and illegal immigrants have flocked there from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), Tibet, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are at least 110 000 Tibetans who have fled since China annexed their territory in 1951, around 100 000 Tamil Sri Lankans who arrived during the island’s civil war earlier this century [1983-2009] and the upheavals in Afghanistan have seen a steady flow of people to India. But by far the greatest number of immigrants are from Bangladesh, which is surrounded by India on three sides” (1575). Bangladesj [1 100 mense per vierkante kilometer] is selfs meer oorbevolk as Indië [400 mense per vierkante kilometer]: Bangladesj “is smaller than the US state of Florida but is home to 165 million people, compared to Florida’s 20 million, and the population is growing rapidly” (1675). “Muslims make up about 15 per cent of Indians, getting on for 200 million in number. But in Bangladesh about 90 per cent of people are Muslim” (1697).

Anders as in Indië word, soos in Suid-Afrika, geen minderheidsregte in Bangladesj erken nie. “There are numerous reports of forced conversions of Hindus to Islam … Add to this Bangladesh’s annual storms and flooding and it is easy to see why so many people choose to cross the border” (1595). In hierdie eeu het meer as 15 miljoen Bangladesjers hulle in Indië gevestig (1602). “In the first decade of this century BSF [Border Security Force (India)] personnel gunned down an estimated 900 Bangladeshis as they attempted to cross the border” (1628). Indië “has not signed the 1951 UN Refugee Convention … Instead, all foreigners come under the 1946 Foreigners Act” (1628). Die Indiese provinsie Assam het ‘n grens van 163 myl met Bangladesj. “Since 1971, Assam’s population has more than doubled, from 14,6 million to over 30 million, much of which is due to illegal immigration. Hindu nationalists have argued that the area might have a Muslim majority by 2060” (1615).

In die ooste van Bangladesj, aan sy grens met Myanmar, is die Rohingya, ‘n Moslem-minderheidsgroep in Boeddhistiese Myanmar. “In the early 1990s up to 250 000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh amid reports of religious persecution” (1711). “Faced with ever-increasing numbers, [Bangladesh] started to forcibly deport tens of thousands back across the border” (1717). Wat Myanmar doen, is “planning to upgrade and expand the barrier along the 170-mile border. There have also been allegations that landmines have been laid to prevent people from returning” (1731).

In die ooste van Indië, aan albei kante van sy grens met Myanmar, is die Nagas, ‘n christelike bevolkingsgroep wat hulleself nie as deel van Indië of Myanmar beskou nie. Sommige van hulle “sometimes spills over into India, and had led to the construction of a fence, not by the Indians but by Myanmar, along parts of that section of the border” (1744). “In early 2017, with Indian army operations continuing against the insurgents, Myanmar began to construct a short border fence in the ‘Naga Self-Administered Zone’, a region where the Naga people enjoy limited autonomy” (1763). Dit lyk asof die Nagas polities beter daaraan toe is as die Afrikaners. “There are now an estimated 2 million Nagas spread across each side of the frontier, an area that Naga nationalists want to turn into a united homeland” (1750).

Met onafhanklikheid in 1947 is die Kasjmir-provinsie met sy Moslem-meerderheid verkeerdelik by Indië pleks van Pakistan ingedeel (Praag 10.06.2018). “Since partition, relations between the two countries have been fraught and this is very much a ‘hot’ border. India has built a 340-mile-long barrier along the disputed ‘Line of Control’ (ceasefire line) inside Kashmir, a region both countries say is their sovereign territory. Most of it is 150 yards inside the Indian-controlled side and consists of double-row fencing up to 12 feet high … The strip of land between the two fences is mined” (1783). Tweederdes van die Kasjmiri’s woon aan die Indiese kant en ‘n derde aan die Pakistanse kant van die wapenstilstandslyn. Indië “is now filling in the gaps in its north and western border defences, having already fenced parts of the Punjab and Rajasthan in the 1980s and 1990s, and is working to ‘seal’ its entire western border, from Gujurat on the Arabian Sea right up to Kashmir in the Himalayas” (1797).

“Pakistan’s 1 510-mile-long western border with Afghanistan was also shaped by outsiders … It separates Pashtuns [Pathans] each side of it into citizens of different countries, a separation many do not accept. For that reason, and because Afghanistan claims some territory east of the line, Kabul does not recognize the border. Pakistan, desperate to prevent Pastun nationalism leading to secession, prefers a weak Afghanistan. This, in part, is why sections of the Pakistani military establishment covertly support the Taliban” (1824). “By the spring of 2017 things had become so bad that Pakistan announced plans to build a fence in two districts along the border” (1830).

In die suide “is the Pakistan-Iran border, and here it is the Iranians who are engaged in wall-building. A 10-foot-high, 3-foot-thick concrete wall is rising along parts of the frontier. This follows years of drug-smuggling, but also the infiltration of Sunni militia groups from Pakistan into Iran, which is a majority-Shia country” (1837).

Naas fisiese mure is daar geestelike, bv religieuse, mure tussen mense op die Indiese subkontinent, veral Hindoe teenoor Moslem (1850). Maar ook binne religieë is daar versperrings. “Hindus are divided into rigid hierarchical groups based on what they do for a living. This is justified in the Manusmriti – the most authoritative book on Hindu law, which regards the system as the ‘basis of order and regularity of society’. Higher castes live among each other, eating and drinking places are segregated, intermarriage is usually banned, or at least frowned upon, and in practice many jobs are closed to lower castes” (1856). Maar dit is juis die hoër kaste, diegene in beheer van die Indiese regering, wat jaarliks by die Verenigde Nasies teen Suid-Afrika se apartheidsbeleid uitgevaar het.

“There are four main categories of people according to the system: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras” (1870). Laasgenoemde doen hande-arbeid. “Outside of the system are those who used to be known as the Untouchables, but are now mostly called the Dalits (‘broken people’)” (1870). “There is an element of skin colour involved in the caste system that many people like to downplay … a ‘profound influence on skin pigmentation’ within the class structure, the lighter skin tones being predominantly found among the ‘higher’ castes” (1877). “The walls around India are designed to keep people out, and those within to keep people down” (1917).

“There’s a wall at the top of Africa. It’s a wall of sand, of shame and of silence. The Moroccan Wall runs for 1 700 miles through Western Sahara and into parts of Morocco. The whole construction separates what Morocco terms its Southern Provinces along the Atlantic coast from the Free Zone in the desert interior – an area the Sahrawi people call the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It is built of sand piled almost 7 feet high, with a backing trench and millions of landmines stretching several miles into the desert on each side of the barrier. It is thought to be the longest continuous minefield in the world. Every three miles or so there is a Moroccan Army outpost containing up to forty troops, some of whom patrol the spaces between the bases, while two and a half miles back from each major post are rapid-reaction mobile units, and behind those artillery bases. The length of the wall is also dotted with radar masts which can ‘see’ up to 50 miles into the Free Zone. All this is intended to keep fighters from the Sahrawi military force, called the Polisario Front (PF), well away from the wall and the areas Morocco considers its territory” (1941).

“Prior to Spain’s withdrawal from the region in 1975 there had already been a Western Saharan independence movement. As the Spanish left, 350 000 Moroccans took part in the ‘Green March’ – they walked into the region and claimed it as Moroccan territory. Spain subsequently transferred control to Morocco and Mauritania; the government in Rabat effectively annexed the territory and sent in 20 000 troops, who were immediately confronted by the PF. The fighting lasted sixteen years and took the lives of tens of thousands of people. Despite their superior numbers and modern military equipment, the Moroccan army could not subdue the guerrilla tactics of the PF. In 1980 they began building what became known as the ‘Wall of Shame’, finishing it in 1987” (1947). Die Berlynse muur, wat tot 1989 Wes- en Oos-Duitsland geskei het, is ook “the Wall of Shame” genoem (2324). Met hierdie benaming skaar jy jou aan die kant van onderskeidelik die Polisario Front en die Weste.

“Moroccan immigration has completely changed the composition of the Western Saharan population as the government has encouraged people to settle there by offering tax breaks, subsidies and one-off payments. The total population of the remaining Sahrawi is … between 200 000 and 400 000. Until the mid twentieth century they’d had no concept of borders; they simply moved over a vast area, following unpredictable rainfall. Now, 85 per cent of what they would regard as their traditional territory is under Moroccan control. The word Sahrawi means ‘inhabitants of the desert’ and that is what they wish to be – not inhabitants of Morocco” (1955).

“In Africa, already home to widespread poverty, the population is expected to double, from 1,2 billion now to 2,4 billion within about thirty years” (Marshall 3176). Die ANC se beoogde afskaffing van landsgrense beteken stikdonker nag vir Suid-Afrika. Hierdie dwase beleid is gebaseer op die drogredenasie “that the practice of citizenship within a state is as violent and discriminatory as the slave trade, because it places citizens’ rights over human ones and thus legitimizes the idea that some people are more human than others” (3189).

[Maar verskanste woongebiede kom ook elders in die wêreld voor, bv “fortified towns” het reeds in die 1930’s hulle verskyning in Kalifornië gemaak. “One study in 1997 estimated that by then the USA had 20 000 gated communities housing 3 million residents” (2212). Dieselfde verskynsel kom in Sentraal- en Suid-Amerika voor. Marshall verwys na voorbeelde in Lima, Peru, en Sao Paolo, Brasilië (2220). Suid-Amerikaanse lande verskans hulle ook teen buurlande. “Since 2014 the residents of the Paraguayan town of Encarnación have been divided from their Argentine neighbours in Posadas by a 15-foot high, mile-long concrete wall along the river on the Argentine side … Next to Paraguay is Bolivia, from where migration into Argentina also comes. This prompted the congressman from the northern Argentine province of Salta, Alfredo Olmedo, to say ‘We have to build a wall … I agree 100 per cent with Trump'” (3209).]

Ter beveiliging van die inwoners is ommuurde stede en dorpe dwarsoor die antieke wêreld aangetref. Namate nasiestate gevorm is, het die sekuriteitsbehoeftes verander en is lande eerder as stede en dorpe verskans of ten minste verdedig: “With the rise of the nation state and internal security … cities allowed walls to be taken down, or began to expand outside them. Now the walls have started to go back up again. But whereas in the past the whole community would be able to retreat behind its walls for protection when threatened, now only a minority live there permanently” (2206).

Europeërs het toenemend Jean-Claude Juncker, die president van die Europese Kommissie, se beskrywing in 2016 van landsgrense as “the worst invention ever” verwerp (2496). “The EU has never really succeeded in replacing the nation state in the hearts of most Europeans” (2476). “Many academics like to argue that nationalism is a ‘false construct’ because it is based on ‘imagined communities’, but there is nothing false about people’s feelings concerning their national identity, and ‘imagined’ does not mean non-existent” (2489). Daar is talle kultuurgroepe in Europa en elders wat “believe that they are a nation, and as such a nation deserving of a state” (2489). Dit geld ook vir (baie) Afrikaners.

Die eerste heinings teen die invloei van immigrante uit veral die Ooste en Midde-Ooste is in 2011 deur Griekeland aan sy grens met Turkye opgerig. “In 2015 Bulgaria followed suit” (2523). Hongarye “began to build a fence, first along its border with Serbia, then the one with Croatia, ending up with over 300 miles of razor-wire fencing to keep people out” (2530). “Slovenia erected a fence along its border with Croatia; Macedonia along its Greek border; Austria along its busiest border crossings with Slovenia and Italy” (2536). “Norway has built a fence along its border with Russia, and Sweden began to restrict the flow of migrants entering the city of Malmö across the Øresund bridge linking it with Denmark” (2543). “In 2016, Denmark introduced a bill under which asylum seekers arriving in the country with cash and jewellery could keep only 10 000 kroner’s (about £1 000) worth; anything above this had to be used to contribute towards the cost of ‘basic maintenance, healthcare and accommodation'” (2576). In Europa “the number of those who support immigration is shrinking” (2556) en “anti-Muslim sentiments seem to be on the rise” (2615), asook ondersteuning vir regse politieke partye (2647). In Junie 2016 het die kiesers van die Verenigde Koninkryk in ‘n referendum ten gunste van uittrede uit die EU gestem, blykbaar grootliks uit protes teen massa-immigrasie. “EU membership and globalization led not to a better life, but to competition for lower-skilled jobs and sometimes unemployment” (2972).

Marshall begin sy uiteensetting met Hadrian se Muur. “Built in 122 CE, it was 73 miles long and parts of it were 15 feet high and 10 feet deep. A 13-foot-deep, 30-foot-wide ‘fighting ditch’ was dug in front of it. Between the two were thickets of spikes” (2753). “Hadrian’s Wall was built to defend the [Roman] conquered territory against the parts they couldn’t rule” (2761). “For two and a half centuries the line held. Below it life grew increasingly Romanized; above it, a different Celtic culture continued. The future Wales and Scotland were never fully defeated and would always retain a sense of difference from the region that became known as England” (2775). Ná 383 nC “the ‘barbarians’ (Picts and Scots) broke through to the south” (2789).

“Scotland may not be a separate nation state, but the Scots are a nation quite distinct from the English – and, perhaps most importantly, they certainly feel that way. The differences between them can be exaggerated, but they do exist … The Scots were descended from Celtic peoples, as were the Welsh and Cornish” (2830). Die Engelse, daarenteen, stam af van veral die “Frisians, Angles, Jutes and Saxons” (2830).

“Until there is acceptance of the universal brotherhood of man, and a world in which there is no competition for resources, we will build walls. It was ever thus” (3257). “There is a proverb found in most languages: ‘Good fences make good neighbours.’ This is not some trite folksy saying; it states an inevitable truth about boundaries both physical and psychological. We plan for a future in which we hope for the best and fear the worst, and because we fear, we build walls” (3263).